The present invention relates to a portable storage unit for disposition on a vehicle seat and particularly relates to a portable storage unit having various article-supporting areas, for example, one or more shelves or drawers to meet various needs and requirements of an individual driving the vehicle. The present invention also relates to a portable cooler for use in a vehicle for cooling and storing commonly cooled and consumed food items and providing a readily available supply of ice cubes.
It is common for the driver of a vehicle to perform various tasks typically unrelated to the driving of the vehicle. Oftentimes the safety of the driver, any passengers and the vehicle are at risk while the driver performs these tasks. For example, a driver may require a writing surface to make a note, complete a form, or the like. Paper and a writing implement, such as a pen or pencil, may not be readily at hand in the vehicle, causing the driver to divert his attention from driving the vehicle to locating one or more of those items. Additionally, even after locating a writing implement and a sheet of paper, a flat, relatively hard surface is needed to enable the driver to write. This is generally unavailable in vehicles with standard interior configurations. Any such diversion of the driver's attention from the road can be a serious safety hazard. Further, storage for various articles in a vehicle is a common problem. While vehicles do have various types of standard storage compartments such as glove compartments and even built-in receptacles for receiving cassette tapes or a container for holding liquids, certain vehicles do not have these storage compartments or such variety of compartments to meet the driver's needs. For example, food items, particularly for long trips, require storage compartments accessible to the driver of the vehicle without diverting the driver's attention from driving the vehicle. Coin boxes, map compartments, trays for holding pens, pencils, note pads and other miscellaneous items such as sunglasses are often not located for convenient access by the driver.
Further, it is desirable to provide a cold storage or cooler for various food items particularly during extended trips in a vehicle. While many types of coolers are well known and can readily be carried within a vehicle, they are not often readily accessible, particularly by the driver of the vehicle. For example, the cooler may be placed on the back vehicle seat where it is virtually inaccessible by the driver absent stopping the vehicle. In any event, most coolers are not in a form which can be secured to the vehicle in a location accessible to the driver while driving the vehicle.
Additionally, the personal safety and security of the individual driving the vehicle is also a consideration. Many times, an individual alone in a vehicle can be placed in situations where the individual's safety may be at risk. Accordingly, there is a need for one or more security-type devices to assist in preventing such a prospective situation.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable storage unit for a vehicle which minimizes or eliminates the foregoing and other problems and provides a novel and improved portable storage unit comprised of a housing having various compartments or areas where articles may be placed and safely stored for access and use by the driver of the vehicle, and also which can be located on the vehicle's passenger or rear seat in a stable manner without positive securement to the seat. Various personal safety features may also be carried by the housing. More particularly, the housing includes side, end, bottom and top walls defining an enclosure in which various article-receiving compartments or areas may be disposed. In a preferred embodiment, the housing includes a top shelf having an overlying flat cover and, below the shelf, a pair of pull-out drawers. One or both of the pull-out drawers may have variously sized and configured compartments formed therein, for example, by employing removable inserts. One of the inserts may include a circular receptacle which, when the drawer is pulled out, provides a stable support for a container holding liquid. Other inserts may be particularly sized and configured to accomplish certain purposes, for example, to provide compartments for storing pens, pencils or paper, food items or CD's. One or more of the inserts may be removed from the drawers, affording storage for other items, e.g., phone books, papers, documents, office supplies and the like.
The cover on the housing preferably affords a flat upper surface providing a writing surface. Thus, when the housing is disposed in the passenger car seat, it serves as a readily and conveniently accessible writing surface for the driver. The cover may be removed and inserted in a vertical orientation into the housing unit for storage, rendering the top fixed shelf of the storage unit accessible to the driver. One or more fixed or movable shelf inserts may be located on the top shelf to compartmentalize it in whole or in part.
An important aspect of the present invention resides in the capability of the portable storage unit to be placed on the passenger front seat (or back seat) without positively securing the unit to the seat, but in a manner which imparts upright stability to the unit whereby the housing is supported substantially immovably on the seat. To accomplish this, the bottom side of the housing is provided with a flexible container containing weighted material movable within the container to enable the flexible container to conform to the various contours of vehicle seats such that the flexible container maintains the overlying housing in a stable, upright position on the seat. Preferably, the flexible container may comprise a beanbag having a flexible rubberized non-skid outer surface for high frictional contact with the seat.
The storage unit of the present invention may also be used to store devices useful for personal safety and security. For example, a ready driver-accessible compartment may be disposed along a side of the unit for receiving a flashlight, Mace, or the like. Additionally, another compartment on the unit may house a mannequin which can be either inflated or otherwise enlarged to simulate the appearance of an individual sitting in the passenger seat. Thus, the mannequin would be visible from outside of the vehicle and, to that extent, may offer some security to the lone driver of the vehicle. Also, a simulated or actual telephone handset may be disposed in a housing compartment readily accessible to the driver such that the driver may simulate a telephone call from the driver's seat thereby enhancing the driver's security and safety.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, the storage unit housing may comprise a plurality of stacked trays, each tray having a bottom wall, side walls and an end wall. The trays are provided with interfitting elements such that, when stacked, the trays are prevented from lateral movement relative to one another. In a preferred form, the interfitting elements comprise downwardly extending tabs along the lower edges of the side and end walls for reception in upwardly opening grooves or slots along the upper edges of the corresponding side and end walls. Drawers, similar to those described previously, with one or more of the various inserts also described previously, may be provided for reception within the trays of the stack. It will be appreciated that the stack of trays may comprise two or more trays with a corresponding or lesser number of drawers for each tray. The uppermost tray in the stack of trays is preferably covered with a flat panel forming a writing surface. Thus, it will be appreciated that the trays may be lifted from the stack individually or in groups, depending upon the number of trays.
A base platform is secured to the flexible container and serves as a base for the stack of trays. The base platform includes upwardly opening grooves or slots for receiving the downwardly projecting tabs of the lowermost tray of the stack of trays so that the stack of trays cannot move laterally relative to the flexible container. A carrying case in the form of a web of cloth or synthetic material may be disposed between the basic platform and the lowermost tray of the stack of trays. End portions of the carrying case may then overlie the sides of the stacked trays and terminate in handles whereby the entire stack of trays may be removed from the base for carrying outside of the vehicle.
In a further preferred form of the present invention, a cooler is provided for location behind and securement to the seat back of the passenger seat of the vehicle. The cooler is thus located such that its door can be opened by the vehicle driver while seated in the driver's seat, thereby gaining access to various shelves and an ice bucket contained within the cooler without diverting due attention to the road while driving. The cooler is preferably disposed in an outer housing which can be secured to the seat back. For example, in a preferred embodiment, a strap passes through suitable loops on the housing and about the top portion of the passenger's seat back to secure the cooler in position behind the passenger seat. A lower stand, case or a bean bag similar to the bag under the storage compartment previously described may be disposed below the housing on the vehicle floor such that the cooler door opens at an elevation slightly above the elevation of the back seat to permit the door to open fully. Alternatively, in addition to the securement of the cooler to the top of the seat back, the lower portion of the cooler may be secured directly to the passenger seat by extending a strap from hooks on the lower portion of the housing about the passenger seat such that the housing is suspended from the passenger seat back and accessible by the vehicle driver from the driver's seat. A further feature of the cooler includes an insert for receiving a cooling medium and which cooling medium can be readily and easily replenished. For example, the insert may comprise a generally U-shaped compartment removable from the housing through the open door of the cooler. The side walls of the insert are spaced one from the other and define a cooling chamber for receiving, for example, ice cubes as a cooling medium and which ice cubes can be readily replenished during a stay at motels or the like. This is a superior method because large frozen liquid blocks need to be refrozen at night. This is not practical on an extended car trip. The insert also carries a plurality of shelves which can be withdrawn and also carries an ice bucket for containing loose ice cubes. With the housing having walls with thermal insulating material, and along the door, it will be appreciated that the insert may be disposed within the housing to provide a cooling chamber for the articles carried on the shelves, i.e., food articles requiring cooling, as well as for ice cubes. By virtue of the location of the cooler behind the passenger seat of the vehicle and the orientation of the door, the contents of the cooler are readily accessible to the driver.
In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, there is provided a portable cooler for use in a vehicle comprising a housing having opposite side walls, rear, bottom and top walls and a door pivoted thereto for movement between positions opening and closing the housing, a cooler compartment within the housing having a plurality of storage areas, a cooling medium container defining a cooling chamber between the housing side walls and the compartment for receiving a cooling medium, the container having an opening for receiving the cooling medium and means disposed between the cooler compartment and the housing for thermally insulating the cooler compartment, the housing having at least one fastener for facilitating securement of the housing to a vehicle seat.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved portable storage unit for a vehicle seat for storing and accessing various articles from time to time as needed or required by the driver of the vehicle and also affording improved personal safety and security as well as a novel and improved cooler for a vehicle disposed for ready access by the vehicle driver.